Elliot surveyed the room, and his eyes landed on the Doves first but then found Danielle quickly. Danielle was bruised and on the floor. 'That little piece of shit.' He bit his cheek and inched closer; but he heavily doubted he could save her easily. "Elle, stay with me, okay? I'm here now." Ten, eleven guys against one. Elliot gestured to the henchmen in the room by panning his arm. "Don't you think all these guys a little unnecessary Hans? And the automatics really? I'm only one man." He observed; looking into the kidnapper's eye. He raised his hands in the air, and he slowly stepped forward. Hans' men remained rigid pointing their guns in his directions; weapons at the ready. He glanced side-to-side. 'Man, what is this? A..revival?'

"But you know what really pisses me off?" Elliot asked with a raised brow and stopped about three feet in front of his "big brother". Surprisingly, Hans continued to let the Lover Boy talk, and he listened. "That you keep hurting the woman I care about most, and I'm fucking angry. Was what happened five years ago enough for you? What about Daniel eight years ago?" Hans had to stop the young man right there, and he gave his men the okay when Elliot aggressively pushed him back. Elliot dug his nails into his palms and glared at him.

Hans stumbled, but he straightened out in moments. "Oh Elijah. Elijah." The older man tsked and shook his head. "You simply fell in love too easily. Ha, I mean who falls in love with a girl he was suppose to kill. And not I mention, on the same bloody night when he ran away from the scene. Am I right boys?" A fit of cackles and howls exploded in the warehouse from the goons. Since Hans let Elliot talk, he would reciprocate, but he was a pinch away from snapping. "Oh, almost forgot. It was either them or your family. Your boy is only three-four months, right? How many times did it take y'all? Four times? I forget. I might have to pick them up after I'm finished here and find out for myself." Hans opened his mouth of gold yellow in a crooked grin.

Elliot lost his shit and lunged at him, dragging his fist across his face. The men were immediate, and they pulled him of Hans and forced him on his knees. Hans sluggishly collected himself off of the concrete and wiped the blood from his nose with the back of his hand. "You shouldn't have done that Elijah. I'll have to break you sooner than later." Hans looked disappointedly at him. "Get the girl and bring her here." He tapped his foot against the concrete in front of Elliot, of where he wanted Danielle situated. Danielle's chair was dragged causing an awful screech against the floor and placed in front of him by an henchman. Elliot recognized the guy; he bumped him into the street that day. "Jake, stab him. Anywhere, but not the heart. I want to play with them." Hans disappeared into the dark side of the room, and Elliot drew in a labored breath as a knife was twisted in his abdomen.

"Fuck." Elliot seethed, hunching over. 'Danielle..' He tried to concentrate on his breathing and listen to his heartbeat. "Hey, get up. You're not finished." Jacob announced, pulling out the knife and tossed it at him. "Pick it up." He commanded, and Elliot glared through lidded eyes, grasping the blade with his fingers. The sadistic guy nodded towards Danielle and smiled widely before reconnecting eyes with him. "Do you follow, or do I have to break it down Pretty Boy?" Elliot's vision was getting blurry, and he dropped the knife. "Go to hell." He ground out through his teeth, and he was kicked down. 'Ugh.' His head hit the concrete, and his head throbbed. "Let's try this again, shall we? Pick it up." He enunciated each word precisely and slowly. Jacob towered over Elliot's fetal body and dug the heel of his shoe in his side. "Argh!"

Her hearing seemed to go in and out. There was a high-pitched ringing in her ears that refused to be ignored, it censored every other sentence spoken. She couldn't keep up with all of the crap going on. Danielle knew two things: she was frustrated and scared. She was sick of being caught in the middle of other's game and always being so helpless. Nausea settled unfairly in her stomach, threatening her with upheaval. Her head fell down as her chair was picked up and dragged over, the movement made her nearly vomit. 'Jude...' she thought, wishing that she could pull herself together just for a moment so she could tell Elliot to help him. She had to know if he was breathing. This warehouse seemed to carry all of her demons, and today they all wanted to play.

As Hans disappeared, the Dove's followed after, still seeking the end of their deal. They held up their side and expected Hans to hold up his. Danielle's mother was less compliant with leaving her in the room with so many dangerous men. But if they could not get through to Hans, all hope was lost. Her mother muttered a quiet prayer before following after her husband.

Danielle could only watch as Jacob attacked Elliot with the knife, she clenched her teeth together and did her best to lift her heavy head. Jacob was enjoying this of course, it was all a game to him. When he looked back at her, Danielle had to hold back another urge of vomiting. Elliot was on the ground and she had to figure out something. She had to be useful in some way. Pulling in every drop of energy she had reserved, Danielle scooted her chair loudly and shouted. "Stop! Leave him alone you coward!" Jacob whipped his head around to her and planted his foot on the empty spot on the chair between her legs. "Since... Since when do you follow orders like a pathetic pet? I'd say you have balls only if you were sucking Hans'."

Instead of hitting her like she expected, he merely smiled and walked back over to Elliot. Jabbing the heel of his boot into his wound once more, he left the lover boy there then went back to Danielle. Jacob took his time patting and stroking Danielle's hair before going behind her. "Danny Danny, you've always had a potty mouth on you. Sometimes I like a feisty girl." he murmured in her ear, making her jolt her head away. Her teeth clenched and she focused on paying attention. "But sadly I must admit that fake feistiness is just pathetic. You see, I read your files. Your therapy files-- yeah we payed your hunky doctor a visit. Elijah was a fool to let you spend hours alone with that guy. But anyway, I always thought those little scars on your arms were for attention-- every school has a girl like you." As he spoke he began to pop off the zip-ties binding her to the metal chair. "But when I learned more about you, your brother, and Elijah, oh it got me too excited. Your life was about as ridiculous as an episode of Pretty Little Liars-- Emily is my favorite." he chuckled to himself and hoisted Danielle up onto her feet. Her coordination was not all that great and she was forced to lean her weight onto Jacob. He clicked his tongue, "Now now Sweetheart, don't distract me." He forced her up onto her feet steadily on her own. "But the fact that Elliot killed your brother in this warehouse and how fucked up seeing your brother die because of you, is just too good." he shook his head in disbelief. "I think that you handled the situation all wrong, I know I don't have a doctorate, but just listen! Instead of taking all of that angst out on yourself, you should have punished Elijah. He was the one who pulled the trigger and lied to you. Also, how can we forget his baby mama issue? Mallory? Really? What was his excuse for that again? Pretty Boy, remind me." he questioned Elliot, twirling his knife in his hand as he smiled at a tired-looking Danielle.

"Fuck!" Elliot groaned, rolling over in agony as he applied pressure to the wound to contain some of the bleeding.Working to stay alive, he glanced at Jude's body lying parallel from him across the room. 'They got him too. Jesus..' "Stop! Leave him alone you coward!" He lifted his head, hearing Danielle's words and Jacob started walking away from him. In a desperate attempt to halt his advance toward Danielle, he reached to pull Jacob's leg from out under him, but the bastard raised his leg with ease and Elliot's hand fell to the ground. 'Damn it.' Blood soaked through the right side of his shirt, and the more he moved, the more tired he got. "Get the hell away from her.." He shallowly breathed, but he was ignored; and was forced to watch Jacob try to manipulate her. "What was his excuse for that again? Pretty Boy, remind me." He swallowed harshly, closing his eyes momentarily. Blood stained his fingers as he continued to pressed down on the wound. The flashbacks returned to him: the time he spent in prison, when he found out about Danielle's fake death, the drugs and sex he used to cope. It came back to him all at once, and Jacob almost broke Elliot with the simple remark. No longer was he the stupidly reckless, hardened teenager, but he was a reformed man. However with the thought of Danielle and Jude, he could not cave in; he needed to save them first to minimize the collateral damage. He gathered the strength and will to push himself from the ground and sit up. Covered in a light sheen of sweat, he supported himself with his right arm. "What are you guys trying to accomplish here? Just let them go, and we can settle this between ourselves."

"I think I'm going to be sick," Danielle was unsure if the words came out. Her hearing and orientation was going crazy again. All because of that bastard Jacob who decided she had to stand. What little food she snacked on during her lunch break at work was threatening to come up and she did not know if she could hold it down. It really wanted to come up. She could taste acid tingling in her throat. Jacob's insistent battering was like a hammer to her temple. Each word continued to bash her skull and rattle her brain. She could only catch certain snippets-- none that she liked. He was teasing Elliot, trying to turn Danielle against him. Jacob was merciless as he brought up all of Elliot's past mistakes. Danielle could see it now-- the memories were flooding in: Daniel taking the bullet meant for her, running away from the warehouse with Elliot, the heartbreak, all of the therapy, a new school for another senior year, the bastard child. Danielle had to clamp her eyes shut, forcing them out as another wave of nausea rolled over her, nearly knocking her off of her feet. But one final memory resurfaced. It was Daniel, his looks a mirror image to Danielle's, but more masculine of course. His thick dark locks, his caramel skin tone, his coffee ground colored eyes, his kind grin. He was leaning towards her, eyes closing as he puckered his lips to press a kiss to her forehead. From there, warmth spread all over, rejuvenating her sick body.

Danielle opened her eyes and looked down at Elliot, laying on the floor and bleeding, when Jude was less than ten yards away, limp. She had to check for a pulse now that she was free. But Jacob had other plans. "This is how we are deciding to end this. The Doves paid their money so they, more or less, get their daughter back. But Bossman said that I can play with you, Jude was not all that fun, he just didn't have the past the three of us had." Jacob explained before shaking his head with pursed lips. "Ellie Ellie," he shook his head as if disappointed, "Why must you always be so focused on an end goal? Can't you just... live in the moment?" As he stressed the word he reached behind him and pulled out a simple handgun. Making a show of it, he took over the safety and aimed at the ceiling, firing one shot to the roof. Danielle jumped at the noise, her ear drum ringing due to their proximity. "Now, Danny, I'm going to give you what you need." Danielle took a step away at his words which made Jacob chuckle. "That will be another time. C'mere." he ordered, pulled her by her forearm, sending her crashing into his chest. He forced her back to him and held her close. "Now I'm not sure if you have ever held one of these, but make sure you hold on tight or else you'll shoot your foot or something." he warned her, placing the gun in her hand and rearranging her fingers. Slowly, he then stepped back. "Just remember, he shot your brother a few yards from here. His blood still stains these floors. Then there's the deceit about it all. Oh! And he fucked that Mallory chick-- with zero protection. Claimed the bastard and everything, despite your wishes. How can you guys be a couple-- be together as a family-- when that thing is in the world? Can you trust that he won't leave you for the responsibility of his son?" Jacob paused before jolting up to add a quick remark. "Oh, and don't tell me that these things don't bother you. Read your files, remember? I know you."

His words, they ignited flames within her limbs and cheeks, she could feel her anger burning her face red. Her nose scrunched up as her hands tightened their grip on the weapon. It was heavy and cold, but quickly growing warm in her intense hold. The pain seemed to go ignored for these moments, as all she could do was think.Contemplate on what she wanted. Her brows furrowed as she looked down at the weapon in hand, she inhaled deeply then raised it, the victim at the end of this life changing tool-- Elliot. She looked at his face, the face she knew and loved, it was contorted in pain, so much pain. Did he bring some of this onto himself? Maybe. Would she be the one to end it? Was their love a twisted, modern version of R&J? Danielle never cared much for literature, maybe that was the wrong comparison. "You could never give me anything I want," she said these words looking at Elliot, a touch of sadness flickering in her dark orbs. "And you don't know me." Quickly she spun around to Jacob and pulled the trigger. She flinched and waited for the noise that never came. Blinking, she shook the gun and pressed the trigger again, and again there was nothing. Danielle continued to mess with it until the magazine fell out and revealed there were no bullets. She could suddenly hear her own breathing, very aware of each second that passed. She was too scared to look up.

His face drained of color when Jacob pulled out the gun. 'No no no no.' He wasn't afraid of dying, no. He thought Jacob was about to shoot Danielle, and he panicked. His eyes widened as Jacob handled her roughly and collided her into him, and a surge of anger spiked through his body. "You dirty little.." He scrambled to get himself off of the floor to get to her, so he could rip the bastard's hands off of his girlfriend. He, however paused in his movements and watched as the gun was now in Danielle's hands. He tightened his jaw and steadied himself on one knee. Squeezing his eyes shut, the pain jolted up his torso, and he faltered in standing. He wouldn't think that she would shoot him just because she was told to. She never listened he learned. She wouldn't. This time was not an exception. "Put the gun down." He forced himself to fight through the despair he felt and ignore the suffering and shakily come to a stand."You could never give me anything I want," Elliot stilled as he read into the brief flashes of sadness in her brown irises. It was like she twisted Jacob's knife through his heart. He frowned deeply and knitted his brows. "Don't." She didn't loosen her grip on the firearm. The muzzle stared directly at him and he slowly closed his eyes, bracing himself for death. 'I'm sorry Elle. Mum. Sam. Darcy. Damien.' Moments passed, a bullet did not penetrate through his skin, nor did he cry out in fact it was quiet. Until the magazine rattled to the ground. He opened his eyes, and Danielle was facing Jacob. There was only the one bullet from before. He quickly dropped his gaze to the discarded magazine on the concrete floor. 'Shit.' Elliot readied his hand, planting it firmly on the blood-stained concrete.

"Haha. Scared the shit outtea the both of ya huh?" Jacob laughed maniacally, but he shortly composed himself after: stoic. "I knew you would try to pull a fast one. I'm not dumb Danny." He took a step closer to Danielle. "But you still shouldn't have done that." He shrugged carelessly and grinned a wicked smile.

Elliot propelled himself forward, using the last of his strength to shield Danielle's body from Jacob. "Oh, Pretty Boy's still trying to play savior? Hate to break it to you Elijah, but you kind of lost quite an amount of blood there buddy. Not to mention, the Doves did not guarantee your return." Grabbing Danielle's hand, he hid her body behind his back. "Back off." He raggedly muttered, shooting daggers at the psycho. Blood profusely dripped from his wound to his expensive shoes and the floor.

Jacob’s maniac laughter caused goose flesh to eradicate all over her skin, making the hairs on the back of her neck stand up. She felt frozen to the spot, her legs refusing to carry her away and her hands shaking. Why hadn’t Danielle seen this coming? In what world would she shoot Elliot? It was an obvious twist and now the two of them were screwed. Danielle found herself even more terrified when Jacob’s features relaxed to something less monstrous and more dead-serious. She couldn’t predict what he was bound to do next and that terrified her.

She clutched onto Elliot’s shirt, now behind him but even more worried. Danielle hated to admit it but Jacob was right, he had lost too much blood. They were also weaponless. The odds were not in their favor. A sense of dread wrapped around her stomach tightly, squeezing and threatening to bring up whatever food she had last. She was at a loss of what she could possibly do and what she could contribute. She knew one thing: she was sick of being yanked around by these men. “Well I’m a Dove and I’m telling you to screw off you freaking psycho.”

Suddenly the sound of guns firing filled the air, the noises rooms away but loud and loud. Shouting followed afterward and Jacob completely ignored it, his eyes focused on the people he wanted to kill most. Kenny however came jogging into the room, blood gushing from a wound on his cheekbone and brow. “Jake, we gotta go. Someone within our ranks was wearing a wire. The cops are going to break in any second.” His bruised knuckles tensed around the automatic he was now carrying.

Jacob clicked his tongue and shook his head. “Leave then you pussy, Hans said I could kill him and no one is taking that away from me.” He brushed off his coworker and friend, balling his hands into fists. Kenny then stormed towards him, mouth open to scold him, but was unprepared for what happened next. Jacob pivoted on his heel, swinging his fist right into Kenny’s gut, rendering him breathless and stunned. His gun fell to the floor and managed to slide a few yards away from Danielle and Elliot. “You’re not my mother and I’m not your dog, man. Do not try to manage me.”

On his knees, Kenny coughed and hacked up bloody spit from an earlier fight before wiping his mouth with the back of his hand. His grey eyes turned cold before he shakily got up to his feet and stared Danielle right in the eyes. “You know my father isn’t going to allow that, you’re too valuable and we don’t have time for this.” He corrected Jacob, rolling his shoulder and holding his stomach. Kenny grabbed him by his shoulders and shook him. “C’mon, they aren’t worth it. You’ll have another chance.” He insisted before being shoved. “Jake man, you’re pissing me the Hell off. Stop being stupid.” This is when Jacob threw another punch, however this time, Kenny dodged it and returned his own, they continued on like this, grunting when they missed, and cursing when one landed upon them.

Danielle just watched dazed, confused by the events and dynamic between the two, and oblivious to the loaded gun on the floor. She knew that the last thing she wanted was to meet the cops. Would they see her as a victim or a coconspirator? “Elliot,” she whispered, shaking his hand lightly. “W-we have to do something, right?” Her voice was weak and soft, a bright contrast to her wild, wide eyes trying to fully comprehend what was happening.

Elliot's brows deeply furrowed, grimacing at the pain from his wound. Standing was exerting more pressure on his body than he thought, and he tried not to falter to the ground. Loads of new information was tossed back and forth between Kenny and Jacob, and Elliot couldn't begin to comprehend any of it. Despite his condition, his body was in fight-or-flight mode. He watched the two asshats exchanged hits with each other, and then he saw it: the gun. The firearm slid close to them, and Elliot racked his brain to forge a plan that wouldn't get them all killed. 'I need to get them out of here.' His eyes stuck on the ground a few feet away from them, Elliot took a deep breath squeezing Danielle's hand with the most amount of energy he could spare; his hold loose but somewhat tangible. He didn't turn his head to look at her; he couldn't. "Danielle, I want you to go to my car as fast as you can. It's still running, I-I'm gonna get Jude. I pr-promise." He swore under his breath and slipped his hand from hers. He rushed for the gun, and he held the weapon with a death grip. He shuddered at the feeling.

He wasn’t looking at her. Danielle could not help but focus on that small detail in this hectic, adrenaline-inducing moment. He barked orders facing away from her. Why did he do this? Was he afraid to show the fear in his eyes? He had to know very well that Jude could already be dead or getting Jude was a stupid suicide mission, but at the same time leaving him would be torturous on Danielle’s tainted soul and twisted mind. Elliot’s hand enclosed around her’s but she did not want to move a muscle until she caught at least one glimpse of his irises. She needed his gaze to fall upon her before she fled. It would give her blind courage, courage she needed to abandon him and allow fate to take control of her life.

Danielle however was not offered this notion of comfort, Elliot released her hand and ran. She opened her mouth to call out for him but she lost her voice amongst all of the noise and chaos going on beyond the wall. The sound of bullets spraying still owned the airways, the volume ridiculous with all of the added shouting. She covered her ears as a wave of dizziness hit her and staggered back. She needed to focus on doing what sellout said, but her chest was tight and she could feel a not forming in her throat. No— she couldn’t have an attack now. Her lungs felt deflated and she was unsure if it was hot in the abandoned factory or it was just her. The headache was threatening to render her immobile but a different feeling urged her to move. Danielle could not identify the feeling, but it got her to move. She found herself turning on her heel and sprinting out of the factory, passing by the spot her brother was killed, the memory fusing together with the image of Jude’s limp body.

Danielle shouldered past the doors, the pain faint in her mind. She easily spotted Elliot’s car and jogged towards it. She paused just as her hand reached for the door, bending over to dry heave and hack up acid. The burning sensation left her throat on fire, but trying to throw up at least gave her something else to focus on besides the fact that Elliot could die. It made her wonder, when did she start to listen to what she was told?

Elliot ran towards Jude, tripping over his feet as he rushed to the still body so. His chest heaved up and down. He crouched down and shook Jude firmly. He didn't feel a pulse. "Hey Jude. Jude. C'mon man, Danielle's waiting for you." He received no response and he sighed, closing his eyes for a second. What was he doing? He left Danielle to herself; he couldn't even look her in the eye before he tried to be a hero. 'Dammit.' He held his fist against his mouth, glanced down at the gun before he tuck the gun in the back of his pants. "Fuck!" He cursed under his breath. The two babies were still tussling, and Elliot attempted to get Jude on his back. Guns were blazing, bullets spraying, sirens wailing in the proximity, and his heart threatened to lunge through his chest. The alarms seemed to be growing closer until they were directly outside of the abandoned building, and his heart sunk.

Cops were on the way with an ambulance tailing behind the authority swarm. Police pulled up on the curb, and one of the officers immediately saw Danielle and approached her. Laying his hand on her back, he surveyed the area from the running car to the ruckus in the warehouse meters from where he was standing. "Are you alright? Were you the only one that escaped?" The officer signaled the others to storm in.

He was done. From the moment, he laid his hands on the gun, he broke the law. But he made it this far, Elliot was going to get Jude out. Get the help he needed before it was too late if it wasn't already.

Danielle stiffened at the strange weight of a large hand on her spine. Her senses were aflame with panic as she registered the possibility of it being the psycho from inside. She knew for a fact it was not the man she loved, her body could recognize his mere presence and scent. It made her seem like an animal, but how could she not pick up on such things or become accustomed to his aura after being through so much with him? The hair on the back of her neck stood but she slowly stood up to her full height--which was not much--and turned to see the foreign man. The badge was the first thing that caught her eye, due to its flickering glow momentarily blinding her. It took a few moments, but then she felt it. The threatening warmth. Someone had set the building aflame. A dry, old warehouse full of wooden crates, surrounded by dry dead grass. It was bound to be consumed by the dancing wisps of red, orange, and yellow. The officer pulled her close, using his body as a wall between fragments that flew from the now burning building. Discomfort sparked her nerves again but she accepted the protection, however this did not mean that she trusted him. In her lifetime, any cop that came to her door had an issue with her parents, that usually ended in arguments between them or about her.

"T-there's a man," she stuttered once he gave her some space to speak and finally catch a glimpse of him. He had a crew cut, deep set eyes, a prominent nose, and the beginnings of a promising beard. "He was tortured, he's unconscious. He needs immediate medical attention." She was afraid to add a truthful possibility, "Or he may already be dead." "Please, please, you have to save him." she did not realize she was crying until the saltiness of her tears mixed with the acidic taste in her mouth. She could only imagine how pathetic she looked: her rat's nest pink hair matted together with dried blood, her makeup smeared to make her resemble a drunk raccoon, her clothes torn as if she was an extra for the TV show Lost, and her skin littered with bruises or seeping cuts. Danielle looked like she went through Hell, when all she had was a mere taste of it.

Doing her best to pull herself together, she wiped her eyes with her dirty shirt and pulled together a strong face. "My parents are in there, and Elliot-- he is trying to save Jude-- the injured man. There are two armed psychopaths in the same room. Hans is there too, the last time I saw him he was with my parents, bargaining for my life." she spoke the last sentence with her teeth clenched. It was likely that he would use them as hostages against the police, or just murder them to escape. Danielle was bound to become the last surviving member of her immediate family. Well, that would be true if she didn't duck under the police officer's arm and sprint into the building. Officers were too busy storming to see her slip through a door that lead into the depths of the warehouse. She spared one look in Elliot's direction before picking up a piece of glass and passing through a burning doorway, the path closing as if broke down behind her. Danielle was internally freaking out, but she decided she had enough, she would end the bastard that was hell bent on taking everything from her.